Pro-Russian separatists stand next to tanks on the outskirts of Horlivka, eastern Ukraine on Feb. 10, 2015. Photo: Reuters/Maxim Shemetov

(Reuters) - Nineteen Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and 78 wounded in rebel attacks near the key railway town of Debaltseve, which government troops are defending, a military spokesman said on Wednesday.

"In shelling, rocket attacks and military clashes, Ukraine lost 19 soldiers including 17 members of the armed forces and two interior ministry soldiers," the spokesman, Vladyslav Seleznyov, told a briefing.